


Snaga

by Mercykiller



Category: LARP - Fandom, Original Content, Original Story
Genre: Fantasy, LARP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-07 00:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercykiller/pseuds/Mercykiller
Summary: An adventure always starts with high hopes and excitement. A group of adventurers travel to the mysterious island of Elyisum to discover its secrets for their kingdom, but with every adventure comes trouble and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Author note: Small edits made 18/01/19

Brienne was standing off to the side of the main deck, basking the warming sunlight that filtered down from the almost idyllic looking clouds that floated high in the pale blue sky, watching the crew go about their work and also to just marvel at the landscape that was getting closer and larger before her eyes, a couple of hours ago it was a vague shape on the horizon while the ship had woven its way through an intricate reef and rough waters. The turbulence had made her feel quite nauseous to sit in the cramped cabin she was sharing with the others so she had left them to their card games and come up to get some fresh air and just contentedly watched them sail closer to their destination.

The ship now swayed gently under her feet, the smell of salt was strong in the air, the slap of sails snapping in the strong wind that pushed the vessel forward, the crew were moving about her with ease, calling out to each other as they performed their duties so smoothly like well-rehearsed dancer, while the captain in his richly embroidered vest, greying beard, eye patch and large brilliantly coloured bird perch on his broad shoulders surveyed the decks from his vantage point at the helm. With one hand he held the wheel of the ship, in the other was a bottle of some sort of mystery alcohol that he casually took swigs from every now and again. He was almost the stereotypical visage of a pirate in the stories read to children, with the exception of not having a lavish hat with a large feather protruding from it, and of course a peg leg.  
It made Brienne chuckle to think about it, and she covered her grin hurriedly with a hand as one of her travelling companions, who had just emerged from the lower decks, came to join her.

 “What are you smiling about?” The young man asked her and came to stand beside her, he had a kind face with a mess of brown hair that was only made messier in the wind, where as her own blonde hair was tied up in a twisted bun with only a few stray strands tugging free.  
They were both dressed in simple layered linen garments, cloaks wrapped around their shoulders to protect them from the worst of the sea spray and the wind. Belts that were hung with pouches and empty holsters for their weapons, that were currently locked in the captains private quarters. Clearly he had experience with travellers starting fights on board his ship and wasn’t taking chances with their group no matter how much they had protested that they wouldn’t look for trouble at the beginning of their journey.

“Oh, it’s nothing Arian, just excited to finally get on dry land. A new land no less.” Brienne was almost bouncing as the words came out of her mouth, her childish imaginings of the captain as a pirate forgotten at the prospect of getting to land and starting their adventure, they had been travelling for what felt like years to get to this point, even though it had only been a couple months and now they were so close she was getting impatient.  
“Sage thinks we should be hitting dry land in the next few hours.”  
“Excellent, I cannot wait to be exploring. Aren’t you excited?”

Arian smiled at her warmly and leaned up against the railing watching the water sloshing up the sides of the ship, he was more reserved than her but she knew he was just as excited as she was.  
“Of course I am! I cannot believe it took so long for the news of it to reach the kingdoms, seeing it now in front of me, there should’ve been news of it sooner.” He laughed, throwing his arms up in an exasperated sigh as Brienne threw him a teasing yet still judgemental look.  
“And we are the first to step on it, can you believe it!”  
Arian snorted at this and Brienne scowled at him.  
“We’re not the first to set foot here, the merchants who happened across it said they saw settlements along the coast lines, looked like they had been here for some time, so I expect that we will come across them sooner or later. We probably should seek out one or more of them to see what they know about this place.” He explained and Brienne deflated a little bit at his matter of fact tone of voice, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.  
“You sure know how to take the fun out of adventuring don’t you.” She jabbed back and stuck her tongue out at her friend who blanched slightly and Brienne watched as his cheeks coloured slightly knowing he hadn’t meant for his explanation to come across like that. He was too easy to rile up sometimes.

“Captain says he’ll be dropping anchor soon.” Came a wispy voice making Brienne and Arian both jump at the sudden presence that had appeared above to them.  
An elf was leaning back into the ratlines above them, dressed in the soft tunic and breeches that were common travelling clothes of her kind, feet and calves enveloped in simple soft leather boots that laced up her shins, black hair twisted and braided away from her face but the remainder hung loose down her back. Her pointed ears were decorated with several silver earrings that glittered with small white gems.  
Sage, swung down and dropped lightly onto the deck to stand silently with her hands on her slight hips, a mask of indifference on her smooth elven face, almond shaped eyes the colour of pine needles flicked between the two and she cocked her head towards the door that led below deck to their quarters.  
“Should probably finish packing, or start in your case Brie.” She added when neither of them made a move to do anything, then turned to head below herself her footsteps silent on the wooden decking that still unnerved Brienne even after knowing the elf for the better part of several years.  
With a shrug Arian followed suit and Brienne reluctantly trailed after him, not looking forward to having to pack her things.

She kept a hand on the wall of the corridor her way along while her eyes adjusted to the darkness that came with being below the decks, there were a few oil lanterns attached to the walls but they hadn’t been lit and wouldn’t until the evening, but there was enough natural light filtering down between the wooden boards and through the windows while the sun was high.  
Pushing open the door to the cramped quarters she shared with Sage she sighed heavily at the sight of her bunk, the sheet was crumpled in the bottom corner, a decent sized leather bound journal sitting on top it. A loose night gown was crumpled next to a thick woollen cloak she was using as a pillow, still where she’d thrown it when she got dressed to go above deck. The rest of her gear was shoved in a corner of the room, practically spilling out of the pack when she had rifled through it and not picked up after herself in her haste.

Brienne pulled off the light cloak that was wrapped around her shoulders and hung it on a hook near the door, went over to the corner picking up her pack and dumped the contents onto her bunk, propping the now empty pack next to the pile. She looked at the contents of her possessions and pressed her lips together thoughtfully as she set about picking out clothing. Her intimates she folded into her nightgown, and slid them down the side of the main pocket. Next went her tunics and breeches, folding and placed at the back to create padding for when they were walking. She paired woven stockings, rolled them into balls and put them into one of the side pockets with her gloves.

Checking her small writing kit over, making sure her ink pot was securely screwed shut and firmly settled in the dark wooden box it was held in along with the charcoal sticks she used for sketching and her quill. Placing it on top of her journal she placed them on top of the clothes, along with a tinder box, wooden bowl and eating utensils. She padded this with the thicker cloak designed for winter that was currently acting as her pillow.  
She clipped a coil of rope to the front pocket and pulled the draw strings of her pack shut on the main pocket, lastly picking up her rolled sleeping mat and buckled it into place across the top but underneath the top flap that covered the whole thing.  
Brienne made sure her waterskin was attached to the side and there were pockets free to store their food. Her larger knife, short sword and small buckler she would hang from her belt when they were given back to her by the captain when they departed.

Satisfied with her work she put her pack on the floor next to her bunk and tugged the sheet out of the corner, spread it across the bunk and tried to smooth the worst of the creases out with her hands.  
A light rapping got her attention and she turned to see another of her companions at the door, this one was newer to her and she was still getting to know him but he was friendly enough and dependable if not a little too quiet for her tastes. He was deeply tanned, but in the right light you could see freckles that dusted his cheeks and nose, he was leaner than most but still broad in the shoulders, it almost made him look gangly at times, especially when he wore clothes that were a size too big for him.  Arian had recruited him a couple of months ago when the kingdom had invited groups to travel to the newly discovered island to explore it and report back with their findings.  
“Yes Howe?” She asked smoothing out the front of her dress nervously, which had become crumpled from her bending over her pack, keenly aware that his gaze had dropped for a few moments to the unlaced low cut neckline of her dress before returning to her face.  
“Gunna all head up top in a few, bring your stuff when you’re done.” He said softly, turned and left, leaving Brienne alone again.

She chewed her bottom lip for a moment, slowly turning about the room to make sure she had everything, she touched the purse on her belt which held the coin and a few gems she had brought with her, checking it off in her head she did the same with the small eating knife tied next to it then mentally checked off everything she’d put in her pack, content she had everything she picked it up and walked out of the room and up onto the deck, blinking as the bright sunlight briefly blinded her.

Her companions were already on the deck, their packs at their feet. Arian was talking with the captain who had come down from his position at the helm, the parrot was casually preening its bright feathers and occasionally mimicking snippets of the conversation, punctuated with a soft squawks and trills.

Sage appeared at her side, sliding into Brienne’s field of vision like a ghost as she stared at the island that was suddenly so much closer than it was a short time ago, she could make out the plateau at the centre of the wide bay they were approaching, who’s cliffsides sharply met the water’s edge and the mountains that rose gently next to it along the western side, they were headed to the eastern shore where the clearer beaches weren’t immediately met by dense forest. She could just make out the dark peak of a blackened mountain further inshore.  
With a wry smile on her lips Sage pointed casually to the captain and Arian, then to the island as she spoke, her elvish hearing clearly picking up the conversation.  
“Dropping anchor in less than half an hour, the water gets to shallow for the ship to get any closer, rest of the way will be in those smaller boats, the cove is sheltered so getting to the beach should be a smooth affair. Captain thinks we should head north-east from there, towards ‘friendlier folk’ as he puts it. But we’ll see what happens once we reach land, I for one am happy to have my feet on solid ground soon.”  
Brienne nodded to her friends last statement, she missed the reassuring feeling of the ground that didn’t sway or rock under her feet and she was pretty sure Tarik was feeling this more keenly than herself, Sage, or any of the others at this point.

She spotted the shorter figure garbed in a heavy leather cloak and the large steel capped boots of his people hunched over the railing, using a spare water barrel to make up for the height he lacked, there was only so much of the cooks ginger tea he could take before his body just reacted on its own, especially after the rocky crossing the night before. Dwarven blood ran strongly through his family line and Brienne was surprised to learn that his mother was human, as he looked every part dwarven, and like a dwarf he had bemoaned having to take a ship across the water but had otherwise stubbornly committed to the journey.  
Alisa was gently rubbing his broad back in small circles, whispering encouraging words to him as he dry heaved over the railing again, she was the groups healer whose bedside manner with her patients was gentle, but not to be rebuked unless you wished to be on the receiving end of a withering stare that felt like it bore to the core of your soul. It was an unnerving experience and Brienne wasn’t sure how she did it, though it was probably to do with some elven heritage in her ancestry, her ears weren’t as prominently pointed as Sage’s but there was a hint of a point to them and her eyes were an unnatural shade of green that was common amongst elves. Her human side came out with her freckled skin and strawberry blonde hair that was pinned under a broad brimmed straw hat to protect her from the sun. She forever carried a small satchel that held her various potions and tools of the healing trade.

“tha soon’r I get off this ship tha better.” Brienne heard Tarik moan as Sage and her joined the group, he had turned back from the railing still looking spectacularly pale and even a little green, but hadn’t come down from his barrel. Wiping away flecks of vomit from his beard with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket and begrudgingly accepted the cup of ginger tea Alisa had pushed into his hands.  
Howe looked vaguely uninterested but otherwise stood from his lean when Arian broke off from the captain who was not so much walking as almost staggering back to the helm, and waved the group together to explain what was going to happen next.


	2. The first step

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group leap head first into their new adventure, a new land filled with new sights and wonder. But their first priority is to find somewhere to settle for the night.

Tarik had all but kissed the rocky beach when they had pulled the small boats ashore to unload their kit, falling to his knees and then to his stomach spreading his arms to either side of him with the cheek of his face pressed against the smooth pebbles as if he was embracing a dear friend. A contented smile on his face, framed by his well-maintained but ruffled black beard that was decorated with small silver beads and thick black hair that was slicked back with oil and tied in a short tail at the back of his head, eyes closed as he lay there for a while, simply enjoying the immoveable ground beneath him.  
“Good ta be on solid ground again. Let me enjoy ‘is for a moment.” He sighed as Brienne walked over to him, planning on giving him a nudge with her boot to get him to help unload everything from the boats, with a roll of her eyes she turned around and reluctantly left the dwarf to his weirdness, though she was feeling inclined to join him if it stopped her body from trying to compensate for not being rocked all the time, feeling weirdly off balance and she was sure all of them would have trouble adjusting to sleeping on solid ground tonight.

Their weapons had been returned as promised when they were packing the small boats, after promptly giving them a cursory check they were tucked in-between their packs and the other provisions they were taking with them. Brienne definitely felt a bit more comfortable with the weight her short sword attached to her belt again, bumping gently against her thigh as she walked. Her small buckler shield was hanging over the sword with her dagger secured to the other side of the belt.

With the exception of herself and Sage, who used a smaller recurve bow instead of the long bows traditionally wielded by her kind, the other weapons were too large to be kept strapped to their belts or backs while they navigated the small boats through the surf and onto the beach, but now they had landed the group was arming themselves before tending to the rest of the unloading. Even if there was nobody around for miles it was better to safe than sorry.

Arian with his long sword and large wooden round shield, painted with the heraldry of the kingdom he hailed from.  
Howe with a hefty mace and a smaller punch shield that was marked with a number of dints that had chipped the paintwork.  
Tarik was running his hands over the leather wrapped shaft of his large double headed hammer, traditional angular markings etched into the metal.  
Sage already had her bow slung over her shoulder and had attched her hip mounted quiver that was bristling with white fletched arrows.  
Alisa’s wooden staff, the surface of it marked with swirling runes, rested next to her as she sat down with her pack in front of her once she had carried it further up the beach.  
No doubt they would all be keen to have a spar to work off the weeks of not being able to practice, and excited nerves, Brienne knew she would need some more practice as she was newer to the fighting than the others around her.

The crewmen that had been sent with them, pushed the boats back into the water once everything had been unloaded and returned to the ship, the group waved them off, thanking them again for the safe passage they had been promised and the supplies they had been provided with for the journey ahead of them.

“It was nice of the captain to leave us with provisions to see us through at least a week.” Commented Alisa absent-mindedly, who was beginning to carefully pack away the fresher produce they would be consuming first near the top of her backpack, the less perishable items that they would be relying on later, like the cured meat, oats, travelling tack and nuts that were wrapped in wax cloth were placed in the side pocket.  
Arian nodded silently, standing next to her while watching the horizon, gaze fixed on the boats that were getting smaller as they approached the ship that was still anchored just inside the bay where the water was still deep enough.

Sage had already disappeared into the sparse forest that nudged up to the rocky beach, gone to scout the area and pick a path for the group to strike out on, while the stretch of beach they were on was sheltered they didn’t want to camp out in the open with their backs to the water on their first night in a strange land.

The elf soon returned to the group, while her face was as always unreadable, her emotions and state of mind could always be read in her body language. Her stride was relaxed as she walked over to join the group who had shifted their position to sit under the shade of one of the larger trees while they waited.  
“Land’s clear for a good stretch, solid terrain, should be easy hiking for the next few days at least. There’s a settlement up north of us but there’s no markings for boundaries that I can detect.” She sat down next to Brienne with her bow across her knees, as she explained everything and drew a little map in a small patch of dirt with an arrow, pointing out where they were and the settlement she spotted, which she marked with an x.  
“There’s a thick forest to the south east of us, that I could only just make out, which I suspect borders on that inlet we passed on the ship. This grass plain stretches on for some distance to the north.” Sage drew a question mark above their position and flicked her gaze to her companions who were all staring at the little scribble as she spoke, studying their expressions before continuing.  
“There’s serious activity on the plateau judging from the smoke that rises from it.”  
Brienne wasn’t the only one that turned her head to look at the cliff face that rose into the sky some distance behind them, she couldn’t see the smoke that Sage was speaking of from where they were, but elven eyes were always keener than her own human ones.

It was now Arian who was talking when she turned back to the conversation.  
“I’m of the mind to follow the captain advice and head in this direction.” He circled a finger above the little question marked zone on Sage’s little dirt map.  
“The plains offer some shelter and also gives us a lot of visibility which I am eager to keep for at least a little while longer. But our first priority is finding a good spot for our camp tonight. Does that sound good to everyone?” The group agreed and seemed eager to get moving already shifting from their seat positions, but Arian had quirked an eyebrow at Sage, asking an unspoken question about where they might settle for the night.  
“There’s an outcrop of rocks that looked ok a decent walk from here that we could use for our camp tonight. It was obscured by the trees so we won’t really know if it’s any good until we get there.” Sage responded dipping the arrow tip to mark a small spot not far from their current position.  
“Should get there in about an hour or so.”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s get going already. We can make more plans over dinner.” Brienne beamed, already on her feet with her pack on her shoulders, offering a hand down to Arian so he could hoist himself up. She was keen to get moving so they could spend the last hours of daylight properly stretching their legs and possibly practicing their swordplay, She knew Tarik would be eager to be cooking up some sort of delicious stew for their dinner, especially now that he was on solid ground and could stomach more a few mouthfuls before feeling ill.

The group left the cove with Sage in the lead, Arian and Brienne chatting ideally behind her, hands resting casually on the hilts of their swords was they walked, though Brienne was an animated talker. Tarik and Alisa came next, both occasionally throwing in comments into their companions conversation, the dwarf resting the head of his hammer on one of his shoulders while the healer used her staff as a walking stick. Howe took up the rear in sullen silence, seemingly content to listen to the group and keep an eye on the surroundings behind them, though Brienne would sometimes look over her shoulder to see him staring at her, which she found slightly un-nerving and would quickly look away at something else or laugh at one of Tarik’s jokes, determined to think nothing of it except that it was coincidence.

A handful of times Sage would disappear to scout further ahead and make the call that it was all clear or if they had to alter their route, she would occasionally point out territory markings made by the wildlife as they walked, the land seemed to be teeming with fauna untouched by the progression of people and large settlements.  
Brienne marvelled at the birdsong that echoed over them, she struggled to pick out any sounds she clearly recognised, or even spot them amongst the foliage above them, though if she was lucky she would see a brief flash of coloured wings slip out of her field of vision.

Alisa would stop the group occasionally to examine strange flora that grew amongst the more common plants and trees, sometimes taking a leaf or a flower from the plants and pressing it in her journal, collecting some berries, nectar, or cutting a portion of the plant and placing in one of the empty potion bottles for later.  
But not all appeared benign, some were subtle but others practically declared their lethal intent and Alisa cautioned the group to avoid touching them until she could study them more closely. The most deadly looking fungus they found growing around large pools of liquid, oil slick sheen across its surface that reflected a mirage of colours as the light hit it, the ground around these pools were bare of growth and they often found remnants of skeletons at the edges, with the black and livid blue fungus like growths the only thing thriving in the area.  
They actively avoided these pools, giving them a wide berth on their way passed any they found.

The sun had started it’s decent as they reached the stones that Sage had spotted, from a distance it didn’t look like much, but as the group got closer they found the rocks were tall enough to shadow even the tallest of them, there was a slight curve to the cluster that created a barrier against the elements, trees shaded the exposed side and there was still a space large enough to fit them all around a fire.  
They couldn’t ask for a better place to camp on their first night.

Arian and Howe left the group to settle and set up the camp for the night while they poked around the perimeter, to double check that they weren’t about to sleep next to the den of wolves or other aggressive animals that might take offence to them, and to pick out a watch point for the ones who drew the short straws for would keep a look out while the others slept. Arian was sure they were safe enough and they weren’t likely to have people come across them but in a new place nothing was 100 percent certain.

By the time they came back Tarik and Brienne had built the fire and were adding larger dry branches to it, making it large enough to comfortably host the cook pot Tarik wanted to put on the coals to cook their supper.  
Alisa and Sage were sitting off to the side of them with the cook pot directly in front of them, they had pulled out a few of root vegetables out of their packs and had set about chopping them directly into pot.  
With the fire built to his satisfaction Tarik took the pot from the girls and set it over the larger coals, shooing them away to do their own thing, happy to do the rest of the work himself.  
Brienne got up to join Arian and quickly pestered him into some sparring sessions, leaving Howe to take a seat across from Tarik.  
“Come on, we’ve been couped up for weeks on that ship. My sword work is bad enough as it is.” She mockingly whined at him and tugged at his arm, she knew he would relent while it was still light and she meant to take full advantage of it.

While Arian drew a wonky ring for them to spar in Brienne watched Alisa begin to pull out the samples she had collected on their trek, her little note book in front of her as she logged each one carefully. Brienne still didn’t know if it was her elven heritage that gave her the ability to determine what plants could be used for healing or some other innate gift but she was glad she was with them.

Sage was perched on one of the smaller stones next where Arian was setting up, clearly keen to see him knock her around for a bit as she fumbled over her strikes and parries while he attempted to instruct her. The elf had attempted to teach her archery but after innumerable very sloppy shots that missed the target every time Brienne had given up in favour of the short sword, figuring that if someone got that close to her it wouldn’t matter to much how she wielded it so long as could make a stab at them but Arian had insisted on at least some training.

Satisfied with his ring Arian beckoned her over to stand in front of him, with their weapons and shields up in a ready position.  
It was a drill they practiced regularly whenever they had the chance, and Brienne appreciated her friends seemingly endless patience with her.  
Their movements were slow at first, just going through the movements of attack, parry, block, gradually getting faster as they warmed up and grew comfortable. Every so often Arian would slow his movements to change up the routine, pointing out an opening in his attack that Brienne could exploit or could push into making him fumble enough for a good strike.  
It was when Arian suddenly sped up the change of blows that Brienne stumbled, overthinking and not reacting in time to them or making the wrong movement to deflect him, on these occasions he would use the flat of his blade to smack Brienne in the spots she was exposed.

It was nowhere near the speed of an actual fight but he had explained to a flustered Brienne a couple of times that it was more about the muscle memory so she wouldn’t have to think about her moves if she had to fight. But so far with any of the matches where they tried these faster exchanges Brienne had ended up on her arse faster than she could blink.  
Now, just as they were losing the last of the night he tried again and much to his surprise Brienne managed to parry a couple of his blows, almost got her blade under his guard before she fumbled the final execution and he had her on the back foot again, but she was reacting to his attacks almost perfectly, he could see that she was beginning to over analyse his movements again and not react instinctively.   
“Let’s call it there, or we’ll be fighting in the dark soon.” He said matter of factly, lowering his sword and shield and stepping out of the ring, Brienne sighed feeling like she was actually getting somewhere for once but conceded that it would do her no good to fumble around in the dark.

The smell wafting from the stew pot made Brienne’s mouth water as they got close to the camp fire, Tarik was using some of the herbs he’d brought from home in the mixture, but she was determined to record the day while it was fresh in her mind, even if her stomach was grumbling at her. Digging through her pack she pulled out her journal and writing kit then joined the others by the fire, placing herself next to Sage and Alisa, with Tarik on her other side.  
She was so focused on writing everything down and adding little sketches of some of the things she had seen it took Alisa pushing her bowl filled with stew and chunk of bread under her nose for her to snap back to the world around her.  
“When you focus, you really are unreachable. I called to you a couple of times you know.” Alisa commented, cradling her own bowl in her lap using the crust of her bread to soak up the broth.  
Brienne’s cheeks coloured out of embarrassment, knowing it was a habit of hers to shut out the world around her while she worked on the task on hand, she had forgotten to eat some days because of it.  
Thanking Alisa for looking out for her she dug into her meal while it was still hot, watching the flames dance in front of her, enjoying the warmth as the night grew cooler around them.

Conversation quickly turned to the prospect of running into other adventurers as they travelled and explored.  
“What do you think they’re like? I wonder how long they’ve been here??” Commented Alisa, there was excitement in her usually calm voice, it was a little odd to hear the enthusiasm in the healers voice.  
“Who knows.” Shrugged Howe, speaking through a mouthful of potato and meat.  
“Might bit long’r than us for sure.” Chuckled Tarik, scooping his second helping into his bowl. Clearly feeling significantly better than he had this morning, Brienne was glad to see him feeling more like himself.  
“Well that was uninformative.” Was Alisa’s unimpressed response.  
“I bet some are pirates, come to look for treasure. Wouldn’t that be exciting? They’ll cunning and handsome like the ones in stories.” She added almost wistfully, a dreamy look working it’s way onto her face.  
“Get your ‘ed out of the clouds lass, pirates aren’t anything like th’ stories.” Tarik laughed and playfully elbowed her in the ribs jogging her back to the present.  
“Whoever they are they’ll all have stories to tell no doubt.” She blushed and wiped her bowl clean with the last piece of her bread.  
“I wonder if any of them have come here because their homeland is in ruin. I heard the kingdoms bordering ours was in dealing with a civil war that saw the populace seeking refuge. Maybe we’ll find some of them here.” Arian joined in, his face a little more serious as he thought of their homeland, which had sheltered a number of the refugees before news of the island had reached them.  
“I came across a few mercenaries who were eager to make a new start here.” Came Howes quiet voice, his own bowl now empty and sitting in front of him, hands resting casually in his lap.  
“I hope they’re friendly, I really don’t want to fight them.” Brienne said reluctantly knowing her sword skills would not be up to the task.  
“You’ll be fine, just stick near Alisa and guard her while she uses her magic. Let Howe, Tarik and Arian deal with the actual fighting, if it happens.”  
“You now what I’d like to see?” Mumbled Howe and everyone looked at him eagerly, he almost seemed to shrink under their gaze.  
“Well spit it out lad.” Tarik encouraged.  
“A dragon.”  
Brienne had to bite down on her lip to suppress the laugh that bubbled within her at such an outrageous thought, but the others weren’t so kind.  
“ Yer jokin lad?” Tarik laughed but saw that Howes face was quite serious even though his ears were turning bright red and Tarik was quick to soften his next words.  
“The lands ‘re wild but no ones seen a true dragon in generations, the closest we get is the small inbred runts in the kings zoo.”  
“We’re more likely to see Harpies or Gryphons here.” Sage pointed out.  
“Who knows we might get lucky.” Growled Howe looking very put out, standing and dusting himself off.  
“I’ll take first watch.” He added, picking up his weapons and walking out of the camp to find a spot where he could keep a look out.

The group fell into silence and looked awkwardly at each other, they didn’t think he would take the teasing so hard.  
“Should we go after him?” Brienne worried her lip, concerned for their quieter teammate.  
“Nah, leave him, I’m sure he knows it was all in fun.” Arian insisted, pulling out a small handful of kindling and breaking them into different lengths.  
“We should sort out who’s taking second and third watch tonight.” Satisfied with the pieces he had in his hand he rolled them to mix them a little and held them out for the others to pull out.  
Sage and Arian pulled the shortest lengths much to Brienne’s relief, she could never stay awake while on watch, she found it was way to boring.  
“I’ll go after Howe, my night vision is better than yours Arian.” Sage pointed out as the group dispersed to unroll their sleeping mats and settle in for the night.


	3. Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventures explore further inland and find a few things the baffle and surprise them.

Brienne woke the next morning feeling no more rested than she had when they had first slept on the ship, sleep had come to her slowly and even then it was fitful and light, waking numerous times to the strange and varied night calls of animals hiding in the dark, pulling her blanket closer around her as she tried to ignore the hard lumps pressing into her sides through the sleeping mat.   
The singular bright side of it all was that the fire hadn’t been allowed to burn out over the course of the night. Howe, Sage and Arian had obviously kept feeding it pieces of wood they had found while they kept watch, and as she rolled over to face it she blearily registered Tarik crouching over it, coaxing it into a more lively state so he could start cooking breakfast.

Giving up on trying to snatch a few more minutes before the morning was fully upon them, she got up dragging her blanket with her and pulling it around her shoulders, and went to sit next to the dwarf, bringing one of her water skins with her to fill the small kettle he had next to him. She sat down next to him in companionable quiet as she filled the kettle and settled it over the coals at the edge of the fire for it to boil.

“I told Arian to catch some Z’s before we break camp.” Tarik eventually whispered to her and flicked a finger to the shape of Arian on his own mat, his boots poking out from under the blanket and no doubt still fully dressed under the rest of it. Brienne had the mind to wake him so he would at least remove his boots but thought better of it and decided to let him sleep. No doubt she would do the exact same thing when it was her turn to keep watch.   
“Here, the water’s done.” Tarik nudged her with his elbow and handed her a small leather pouch which was filled with tea leaves.  
“Smells good.” She smiled opening up the pouch and sniffing at the contents, ginger and hints of orange wafting out of it mixed with the earthiness of the tea leaves. Using the folded corner of her blanket to protect her hand as she wiggled the hot lid free of the kettle, and poured a spoons worth of the leaves into the bubbling water and quickly replaced the lid to let it steep.   
The others were starting to stir as Tarik started frying some slivers of the cured ham from their supplies while Brienne was cutting up some slices of the hard travelling bread, that she put next to some of the fresh fruits that they would have to eat before it went rotten.   
“Mmm g’morning.” Alisa murmured and sat next to Brienne, taking one of the apples and just held it as she blinked a couple time leaning into Brienne’s side and started drifting off again.  
“Come on wake up. We have some tea if you get your mug.” She nudged the half elf back into wakefulness and smiled as Alisa mumbled something unintelligible and went to go get her mug, and much to Brienne’s delight went to her own pack and pulled out her mug as well. Alisa wandered back with the apple in her mouth and set the mugs down in front of Brienne as Sage and Howe also joined them with their own ruffled looks about them.

They sat in comfortable silence, and Brienne busied herself with pouring out the tea and passing along the steaming mugs while Tarik dished out the cooked ham and bread.   
Birdsong and the soft trilling of crickets the only noise in the early morning as the sun slowly rose above the horizon line, sending soft shafts of light through the trees into the camp.  
They were halfway through eating when Arian rose from his blanket cocoon and joined them, plonking himself down in a spare space and accepting the food and tea with a soft murmur and sleepy smile, his clothing all wrinkled and his hair a mess.   
“’Nything ta report from last night?” Asked Tarik, breaking the silence as he poured the last of the tea into his mug, shaking the dregs into the fire.  
Howe, Sage, and Arian all shook their heads and the group unconsciously released the tension they had been holding and almost visibly relaxed.  
“Just some small creatures out looking for food and the owls that were hunting them.” Commented Sage through a mouthful of fruit, wiping the juice that was dripping down the corner of her mouth with the back of her sleeve.  
“It was a quiet night.” Added Howe as Arian nodded along, not quite up for speaking just yet as he shovelled the food into his mouth while it was still hot.   
Brienne wanted to ask Sage more about what she had seen of the night creatures but she could see the others were already cleaning up after breakfast so it could wait until they had a chance to speak while they were exploring later.

The fire was the last thing they put out after they had packed up their gear and buckled on their weapons. By the time they got to it is was smouldering coals that were easily smothered by the dirt they kicked over it until they were sure it was completely out.  
Alisa and Sage made it their priority to find a source of water where they could refill their skins when they were discussing their plans for the day as they broke camp, leaving the shelter of the curved formation of stones.

Sage lead the way again but they switched up the formation little, Brienne finding herself walking with Howe as Arian took up the rear guard this time. She didn’t exactly feel comfortable around him as she just couldn’t read him or his personality properly.  
So she listened to Tarik and Alisa talk about the plants she’d managed to find yesterday and their debates on what they thought they could be used for.  
“Ta’ spiky leaves as a restorative?? Ya jokin’right?” Tarik was grumbling as Alisa theorised that they looked very similar to the plants back in their kingdom the healers used to quicken the mending process when it was brewed as a tea or crushed down into a paste.   
“Oh come now, we all know medicine is bitter and nasty but that’s how we know it works.”   
“Ya know wha’ else is bitter? Poison.”   
Brienne could practically hear Alisa roll her eyes at the dwarf as they walked.  
“N’ you keep that nasty fungus away from my cookin’.”  
“It was growing on a tree, not some dung heap!”   
“It’s all the same ta me. Nasty stuff. Blergh.”  
“What if we tried roasting it with some of the herbs I know you have stashed away in your pack? I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad if the animals here can eat it.”  
“Still gross, ‘hat spongy texture never sat well wit’ me.”   
“Well how do you know this one won’t be different if we don’t at least try it?”  
“Oi! You ain’t getting’ me to eat that. Quit tryin’.”

Their conversation switched to the berries that they had found and Tarik was keen to see if they could be fermented since they smell quite sweet even if some of them were still a bit green and Brienne found herself zoning out, happy enough to look at her forest around her, admiring the landscape that stretched before them, she could see the black mountain rising to north west of them, obscuring their view of anything past it.   
They were taking their time to travel, there was no pressure to be in a certain place by a certain time and the group didn’t feel the need to rush their journey across the island. Their pace was slow and casual and Brienne was thankful for it, she could feel her lack of a good night’s sleep creep up on her in small aches and pains, and she was thankful when Sage informed them that she’d found a small stream where they could take lunch and refill their water skins.

The midday sun was beating down on them and they were all relieved when they reached the shade that surrounded the small stream as more trees grew around the water source. One side of the bank was shallow and rocky, the other was steep and near vertical but made of soft looking red soil, the exposed roots of the trees poking through in some places.  
Everyone dumped their backs in a pile and pulled out their skins from the various places on their packs and belts to refill them in the cool clear water.   
Once that was done and they did a quick perimeter check they settled themselves down near the packs, Tarik pulling a deck of cards out of one of the many pockets sewn into his pack and started dealing them out to Arian and Howe who had shuffled closer.  
Brienne pulled off her boots and rolled up the hem of her breeches to her knees determined to make the most of the water available of them. Delighted at the sensation of the running water she explored the shallows, picking up various stones and attempting to skip them across the surface, without much success.  
“I found some soap root.” Called out Alisa who was also exploring the shallows, the hem of her skirts pulled up and looped through her belt, she was examining a fern like plant that was growing in a cluster on the far bank small white flower buds closed against the sunlight.   
“Excellent, we’ll need those for later when we can’t stand the smell of each other.” Brienne jested as  Alisa dug out the bulbs at the base of the plant, whispering a thank you to the plant once they had cut them free and placed into one of her leather pouches before covering the surviving roots again. Brienne gave herself a quick cursory sniff and was satisfied that her tunic didn’t need a proper wash just yet.

She could see small silver fish in the deeper parts of the stream and she watched as they flitted in and out of the roots exposed under the waterline, they were too small to be worth anything other than bait for larger fish but it meant the river systems were healthy.  
A shape caught her attention as she watched the lazy movements of the fish, even though it obscured by a couple of stones it wasn’t shaped or coloured like the stones around it, and she waded a little deeper to fish it out.  
It was small, about the size of her thumb, with pearlescent pinkish sheen, it was obviously enough a shell from a creature native to the oceans, not something to be found so far inland. Curiously she began to seek out other pieces of shell along the river banks. Now she was looking for them she found more than she could comfortably carry in one hand and feeling slightly unsettled by her little discovery she returned to the others with her find.

Arian was leaning up against their packs with Howe and Tarik fully immersed in their card game, Sage was up in one of the trees keeping a watch over them and the surrounding area while Alisa was busying herself with a small cluster of tall plants with wide lily pad like leaves that was growing along the shallow end of the river.  
“So I found something I didn’t expect.” She said interrupting the boys game and holding the shells out in her hands in front of them.  
“So?” Howe quirked an eyebrow at her looking partially annoyed at the interruption, but still picked out one of the shells, turning it over for a closer look.  
“Well we’re inland, and these are shells from the ocean, something you would find in the reefs.” She pointed out putting the shells down in a small pile so she could sit down to pull on her boots while the others looked over her findings.  
“Any your point?” Retorted Howe throwing the shell he was holding back into the pile.  
“If you just _looked_ at them you’d see.” She shot back feeling a little irritated.  
“They’re not old. These still have colour to them.” Arian stated looking them over.  
“Someone could have dumped the shells here after fishing.”   
“Mmm not wit’out leavin’ marks lad. These ones haven’t been prised open.” Tarik was holding an oyster shell and was inspecting the edges closely, Sage now hovering over his shoulder having dropped down from her perch to join them.  
“Aye, they’re not fossilised either, like the ones you see in the rocks sometimes. I wonder how they got here.” She chimed in.  
Brienne shrugged and picked up one of the prettier cone shaped shells she had collected and shook out a decent amount of gravel from the spiralling chamber that would have hosted a small creature were it in the ocean.  
“Well this place ain’t magical, it’s not like they appeared for no reason.” Sighed Howe as he collected up the cards knowing that the others wouldn’t be returning to their game any time soon.

Alisa chose this time to walk out of the water, dispersing the mounting tension by flopping down with her own little haul, an armful of the broad leafed plants she’d been looking at earlier.   
Looking rather smug with herself as she leant across and dug through her pack for a small stone mortar and pestle that she set in front of her, using her small eating knife to expertly trim the leaves off the long stems of the plant and began to mash them into a paste in the stone mortar.  
“Is that Aashridow?” inquired Sage as she stepped over the boys to pick up one of the whole plants that Alisa hadn’t got to yet, looking mildly surprised at the healers discovery.  
“Aashridow?” Brienne asked pulling her attention away from the mysterious inland shells.  
“A plant healers use to quickly stop the bleeding of serious wounds, I’ve seen it used to save men who would have otherwise died. It’s hard to come by back home and near impossible to cultivate. So it’s incredibly pricey and hard to get unless you’re a court healer.” Sage explained and handed the whole plant back to Alisa who was holding out her hand expectantly.  
“Not quite but it’s eerily similar, with only a couple of subtle variances.” Alisa sounded excited as she tipped the mortar full of mashed plant pulp into a piece of cloth she had lying next to her, bundling up the edges and holding it over the open neck of a clay jar, squeezing a greenish milky fluid from the pulp.   
“This place is absolutely thriving with these plants, when we go back I hope to take some cuttings of these back with us and see if I can’t get them to grow back home.” Alisa said as she repeated the process with a new stem.   
“The leaves can sooth itchy insect bites but they work better when they’re fresh and it’s harder to preserve them.” Alisa was explaining when Sage suddenly darted off into the trees without saying anything, but Brienne and the others did see that she went past their packs and had picked up her bow before she disappeared entirely from view.

All of them were on their feet when she came back, hands on their weapons ready for the potential trouble she may have brought back with her, but she looked relaxed and so they all sat back down.  
“Well, what was it?” Asked Arian, the most concerned of them all and not comfortable enough to settle until he was properly informed.  
“I thought I saw something watching us from the higher bank but it disappeared before I could get to it.” Sage shrugged and pulled out some apples and tossed them to the others before taking a perch in the trees again.  
“Did you check for tracks?” Pushed Arian looking more worried from the vague report and Sage fixed him with a withering stare.  
“There weren’t any. Well none that I could see around the area where it could have been. It was probably some sort of animal come to investigate us trespassing in its territory.” She speculated not sounding convinced herself, but Brienne was thankful she had at least spotted something, the rest of them hadn’t even been paying attention to their surroundings and had missed it completely.

They pushed on with the insistence from Arian once the healer was done with her plant mashing, the left over pulp now drifting down the stream on the gentle current. Brienne returned all but one of her shells to the water as well, keeping the spiralled shell that was the most intact of them all, Tucking it into the pouch that held her coins.   
Keeping the mountain to their left they followed the stream further inland.


End file.
